Wednesday, April 25, 2012

It kills me to write this post, as I have enjoyed some good meals and PLENTY of good drink at local hangout Hoppy Brewing Company, but a business is not just based on the quality of the product - there is also the manner in which a business treats its customers. In this area, Hoppy might as well be urinating in the beer.

The following is an account of a less-than-pleasant encounter with the Hoppy Brewing Company owner/CEO that was posted on Facebook by some friends of my wife and mine. We attend the same church; see each other often at our local athletic club; and we meet for dinner when we are able to secure a babysitter. I have received permission from these friends to post their Facebook narrative, and I have deleted the names for privacy purposes.

First, here is the Facebook post our friends sent out, and then I will post the Hoppy response:

Unfortunately, we've had a bad customer service experience with Hoppy Brewing Company. [Our son] left his DSi case at Hoppy on a Sunday, and we didn't realize it until Monday. When I phoned, there was some "hinkiness" on the phone regarding whether it was found or not, so [my husband] pursued it. He discovered that the manager picked up the case (with games and powercord) and put it in their "lost and found." Then it went missing AFTER they found it. We pursued, because obviously, ONE OF THE EMPLOYEES is a THIEF. If they had not revealed that it had been found and then lost again, this would simply be a hard lesson for [our son] (as it still is) since we aren't replacing it, but we felt there should be some recompense (at least, a formal apology, at most some comps to ensure our business) and instead we received the following note. They have lost our business permanently (the sad part being that we enjoy going there.) They willingly employ and protect a thief. They are willing to alienate us as customers and risk those connected to us. A formal apology and some evidence of discipline was what we were after. Instead we were insulted for making the mistake of trusting the employees of the establishment. Please remember that the case was FOUND and put in the lost and Found and we called 24 hours later to claim it. It was not taken by a patron from the restaurant area. If that were the case, this would not be an issue. Please consider taking them off your list of places to go. Thank you!

Just to add a couple details to this story, my friends were not just another family sitting at one table in the restaurant; they were part of a large dinner party that had essentially rented out the entire restaurant. The owner had noticed that the DS was left behind immediately after my friends had gone out to the parking lot. The owner himself (or his hostess) ran out to the parking lot to try to catch my friends before they left. This means there was no question as to whom the DS belonged. The entire dinner party had been paid for with my friends' brother's American Express card, so a contact number could have easily been ascertained by the Hoppy staff. After inquiring with Hoppy Brewing Company about what they were going to do about this situation, here is the email my friends received from the Hoppy Brewing Company owner/CEO,whose name is Troy Paski:

Hi [W.R. Chandler's friend]! :)

Sorry I haven't gotten back to you sooner, but I've been tied up with some
personal matters these last few days.

1) I felt like we had a good conversation the last time we talked.

2) As a retail establishment, we are not responsible for lost and/or
stolen property from guests.

3) I didn't like the tone of your first message, which is partly why I
called you to nip something in the bud, and from the tone of this message
I like it even less.

4) I apologize for it being missing, and I apologize for being too honest
with you.

5) We do tend to over-care for our guests from time-to-time, which makes
them feel a bit like family, so if that line was blurred for a moment I
again apologize.

6) You were a guest in our establishment, and you lost a childs toy.
Shame on us for not picking up after you and catching you before you left
without your toys that were left behind.

7) Hopefully this taught you a lesson on better parenting skills.

8) I wish a had something more positive say.

Have a nice day. :-)

Actually, once that lost item was put into Hoppy's Lost-and-Found, they can't come back and say too bad, so sad. I direct you to California Penal Code, Section 485:One who finds lost property under circumstances which give him knowledge of or means of inquiry as to the true owner, and who appropriates such property to his own use, or to the use of another person not entitled thereto, without first making reasonable and just efforts to find the owner and to restore the property to him, is guilty of theft.

You know what is funny is that just three-or-so days ago, I was telling my wife that I needed to meet up with a friend of mine who I haven't had the chance to visit in a while, and since he and I have met at Hoppy Brewing Company in the past, I was going to suggest that location when we met up again. Uh, cancel that idea!

I urge all of you readers out there to do likewise. Companies who not only hire, but protect employees who steal and have the owner of said company insult loyal customers don't deserve our hard earned $$$. There are plenty of other brewing companies/restaurants in the Sacramento area who would be glad to step up and fill the void. This would include:

Rubicon Brewing CompanyRiver City Brewing CompanyPyramid AlehouseHogshead Brew Pub B.J.'s Restaurant and BreweryPete's Restaurant and Brewhouse Sacramento Brewing Company OasisSudwerk (Davis, CA)Yager's Tap House and Grill (Folsom, CA)
Google or Bing any one of these fine establishments to find their location and amenities, and when you sidle up to the bar or take your seat at a table, tell them Hoppy sent you!

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

That post title is of course a nod (fist bump?) to the (in)famous statement made by our Dear Leader to Joe the Plumber during Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

For the last several years, the Young America's Foundation has taken Obama's belief and run with it by asking members to go on college campuses and ask students to sign petitions calling for GPA points from the top 10% of grade getters to be redistributed to those students whose grades are not so good. Many students who would be all for redistributing your income sing a far different tune when faced with the prospect of having their high grades redistributed.

Watch the hilarity ensue:

I have seen past videos on this topic, and it never ceases to amaze me as I watch someone who is presumably all in favor of taking one person's hard earned money and handing it to someone who didn't earn it, turn right around and balk at giving up some of their hard-earned grades to a fellow student who didn't earn it.
What a great and simple way to illustrate the insanity of such a bankrupt ideology that, unfortunately, holds millions of Americans in thrall.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

I endorsed Ron Paul for President on February 8th of this year, and since then, we have witnessed the Romney/Santorum Show in the lamestream media. Meanwhile, however, Paul and his supporters have been doing the unglamorous, in-the-trenches work that has produced some satisfying payoffs.

What a lot of people don't realize is that the popular vote is not necessarily the most important aspect of a state party caucus or primary; it is the number of convention delegates the candidates receive. And Ron Paul has now locked down enough delegates to be declared either the winner, or tied for the win in both Iowa (Yes, Iowa) and Minnesota.

For a detailed breakdown of how this is possible, watch this segment from - wait for it - MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. Keep in mind, that the very statist, left-wing Maddow is gleefully reporting this story from the angle of showing the incompetence and behind-the-scenes chicanery of the Republican establishment as they carry out these primaries and caucuses. But while she is doing that, she also correctly reporting the situation:

Does this mean that I think Ron Paul is going to secure the Republican nomination? Not necessarily. But what this story does show is that the conservative base is extremely unhappy with the forced coronation of the maddeningly moderate Mitt. He is already falling into McCain mode by stumping for Barack Obama by telling us what a nice guy Barack is. Gag me. And many others are gagged by it too.

Let us hope that Ron Paul continues to be an influence in keeping the establishment Republicans from licking Obama's jackboots too early in the campaign.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Monday, April 23, 2012

This is rich. A columnist named Mansfield Frazier, who writes for the Daily Beast would like to see George Zimmerman spare the nation the messiness of an actual trial by copping a plea. Why, you may ask? Well, to avert any possible riots that may occur in the event of an acquittal:

As George Zimmerman faces murder charges for shooting Trayvon Martin,
it’s worth asking if America is in danger of facing Rodney King, Part
II?That’s what I see down the tracks: If this case goes all the way to
trial, it’s a train wreck waiting to happen. The time is now for strong
hands to take the helm and steady the ship of state—not to mention our
national racial, political and legal discourse. The paramount concern
has to be to avert a large-scale racial calamity...

Uh, no - the paramount concern should be the same one that applies to any criminal trial, and that is to see that justice is done. And if justice decides that Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense, then so be it.

For good measure, the column spouts out the now-debunked story that neo-Nazis were patrolling the streets of Sanford, Florida, and the column also features a photo of Rodney King juxtaposed with the outdated photo of cute little 12 year-old Trayvon Martin before he became the menacing 17 year-old No_Limit_Nigga with the gold teeth and the middle finger attached to a tatted-up arm raised in the air. Somehow, those photos never seem to get used.

Once the outcome of trials are decided not on the facts and evidence, but on the prospect of violence committed by people who are unhappy with the trial's outcome, then justice is dead, and so is our country.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Friday, April 20, 2012

I was listening to Armstrong and Getty (650 AM) on the way to work this morning. They were dutifully talking about the recent death of Bandstand/New Year's Rockin' Eve icon Dick Clark. Things really took a turn for the funny when they began reading tweets and emails they were receiving from their listeners. My two favorites were:

"I suspect Seacrest!"

and

"So now, Dick Clark can no longer ring in the New Year... well played, Mayans; well played."

Now that is some funny stuff right there!

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

There are times where I am absolutely appalled by the inappropriate reactions I receive from my students when I try to discuss some subjects in my 8th grade U.S. History class.

I am currently teaching them about the War Between the States of 1861-1865, and one of the key terms we discussed was the concept of Total War; as practiced, for example, by General Sherman in Georgia.

Just about every lesson of mine is accompanied by a Power Point slideshow that is heavy on images and photos. After showing them photos of General Sherman, the skeletal remains of buildings in Richmond, and a Sherman necktie, I went to some other slides showing examples of Total War that was carried out in World War II, which was the quintessential Total War. I showed photos of B-17s dropping bombs, the burned-out remains of the city of Dresden, and then this photo:

My students were dead silent as I explained to them that these were Soviet civilians who had been murdered by Nazi soldiers during Hitler's 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. But then, when I added that the Japanese also carried out massacres like this against the Chinese, a good portion of my class (the last period of the day) began laughing hysterically.

I told the class that I didn't see what was funny about any of this, and that made them laugh some more. The more horrified I became at their laughing, the funnier they thought it was.

I finally sat down in the chair at my desk... defeated.

I clicked to the next slide, which had some bullet statements they needed to copy down. While they did that, the laughter started to subside as the students began to concentrate on copying down the information. As I sat there still in shock, my curiosity got the best of me, and I posed a question to the class.

"I don't understand why you guys started laughing when I told you that the Japanese did that to the Chinese. Someone please enlighten me."

A student blurted out, "We thought they was cousins!"

My God, what have we wrought?

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Congratulations! As of today, you are no longer working solely to pay your taxes for this year, you are now finally working for yourself and your family.Yes, that's right: Ever since January 1, 2012, every last penny, nickel, and dime you have worked long hours to obtain has not gone to you but to your federal, state, and local governments to pay the myriad of taxes that have been levied upon us.

Think of all the hours of work you have put in from then until now. What I really love from the article I linked is that in 1913, when the travesty known as our federal income tax was established, Tax Freedom Day arrived on January 19th.

Kinda puts everything into focus, doesn't it?

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Thursday, April 12, 2012

The Florida special prosecutor, Angela Corey, who was tasked with deciding whether or not George Zimmerman should be charged with a crime has gone All In with a 2nd-degree murder charge.

You don't have to watch the full 24 minutes of her press conference where she announces that charges have been filed, but just watching the first thirty seconds will give you a good idea of how all this is going to play out.

First, note her cheerful demeanor, and then her reference to Trayvon's "sweet parents" for whom she asked us to pray. And yes, that's "Trayvon." Apparently Corey is now on a first-name basis with him. I wonder if she will also call him by his other name: No_Limit_Nigga, which was Trayvon Martin's Twitter handle. For some real depraved entertainment and enlightenment, I dare you to click on the link and read some of No_Limit_Nigga's tweets. They paint a much different picture than the 12 year-old cherub whose photo the lamestream news media keeps running of Trayvon Martin.

I look at these charges against George Zimmerman to be a textbook case of democracy in action: If charges weren't filed, the mob would have most likely rioted. Now that charges have been filed, the mob will most likely riot if Zimmerman is not found guilty as charged.

Try getting a fair trial under those circumstances.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a lengthy piece, entitled "'Courageous Conversations' in a 'Nation of Cowards,'" about the conversations I will need to have with my children about how they should handle their interactions with black people. I wrote that piece in response to several newspaper articles that profiled black parents and their perceived need to have a conversation with their kids about their future interactions with white people.

Lo and behold, not too many days after I wrote that piece, a similar article was written by John Derbyshire, who is (was) best known as a contributing writer to the so-called conservative publication National Review.

Derbyshire didn't actually write his article for National Review; it instead was published in an online publication called Taki's Magazine, or Taki Mag, for short.

As I did, Derbyshire acknowledged the many newspaper articles and blog posts about black parents having "the talk" with their kids about what they will need to know when they deal with white people throughout their lives. And as I did, Derbyshire then detailed a hypothetical conversation he would have with his kids about dealing with black people throughout their lives.

In all his points, Derbyshire provided links to back up what he was saying, but that did not matter. The left side of the blogosphere and media had a predictable conniption fit over Derbyshire's article. What saddened me was the reaction from the controlled conservative opposition at such places as HotAir.com, certain writers at AmericanThinker.com, and of course, National Review. Within just a couple days after Derbyshire published his article at Taki Mag, National Review wiped their hands of Derbyshire. By doing so, National Review simply proved the point I made in my piece about all those people out there who are too cowardly to have these courageous conversations such as Derbyshire attempted to start. What was sadly amusing is that most of the criticism of Derbyshire's article - from either side of the political spectrum - was rather short on substance, but long on emotion. For most critics, their concern did not appear to be that anything Derbyshire wrote was incorrect - like I said, he heavily sourced his article - their concern appeared to be that Derbyshire dared speak that which should not be spoken, no matter how truthful it may be. After all, feelings could be hurt!

As a prime example, just read the following from the blog post written by National Review's editor, Rich Lowry, in which he informed readers that NR had disassociated themselves from Derbyshire:

[Derbyshire's] latest provocation, in a webzine, lurches from the politically incorrect to the nasty and indefensible....

I see some critical statements there, but "incorrect," "wrong," "non-factual," and "liar/lying/prevarication" are not among them.

I am sorry that Derbyshire had to pay the ultimate professional price for expressing his views, but I respect him deeply for taking that plunge. It is one thing for these courageous conversations to be started like a nobody blogger like myself, but John Derbyshire of National Review magazine cannot be so easily ignored.

Unlike the bigwigs at National Review, John Derbyshire chose not to be a coward. My hat is off to you, Mr. Derbyshire.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

I realize that political candidates often give the same stump speech on the campaign trail, but how about our Dear Leader using essentially the same exact budget speech this year, as he did last year, complete with flubbing the same exact word - disabilities - one year apart. You have got to see this to believe it:

Is the man a robot? Does his software have a glitch?

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." -Thomas Jefferson

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I am native of the mountains of northern California; 12-year veteran of the U.S. Army and California National Guard; Secondary School History teacher; Husband; Father of Two; and three-time honoree as Time Magazine's Person of the Year (2003, 2006, 2011).